Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology

I'm an interim professional in the field of HR at secondment, recruitment, and selection agency Yacht. Even though I haven't studied Human Resources, the Master's in Work, Organization and Personnel Psychology I did, gives you a solid background to start working in this field. They are both concerned with working people, after all.

Interim professional means that I am seconded at an organisation to work there for a certain period of time. Yacht is part of Randstad, the large temping agency. Yacht is their ‘professional’ branch, which is aimed at theoretically trained people. In addition to HR, there are several areas of expertise within Yacht, such as legal, finance, or IT. I’m now almost finished with my fourth assignment in two years time, so I have one assignment per six months on average. It’s great because it gives me the chance to see many different companies and carry out different types of work. It’s also sometimes called ‘legal job hopping’.

I arrived at this job through my Master’s thesis, which was commissioned by the local government. My thesis discussed the development of the labour market in the Northern Netherlands. They were very impressed with my report; the way I presented it to them, and the way in which I made use of statistics. The latter is what got me a job as data expert in their team.

As an interim professional, I have the chance to get to know many organisations in a relatively short amount of time and to try out different types of work. My professional development is therefore quite fast-paced. When you start your first job, you usually have no idea what you want to do and which skills you have. This job gives me the opportunity to discover my professional self and to find out what it is that I enjoy doing.

In the current labour market, it is very important to attract the right people. Few people are the right fit and you want to keep the ones you managed to contract. That is why staff selection matters. In my current role, I'm also active as a selection psychologist, so I use my knowledge about assessments on a daily basis.

I very frequently enter situations where people do things in a certain way because ‘that’s how they’ve always done it’ or because they simply don’t know how to do it and have, through experience, learned to do it the right way without even knowing it. I am able to use the knowledge from the WOP degree programme to improve, or even professionalize, business operations. Also, when a new project is about to start I can be of value, because I can rapidly familiarise myself with a topic and am able to find scientific information about the topic quickly.

At the time, the Master’s in WOP was a logical next step for me after my Bachelor’s in Applied Psychology. I realized that my patience with clients runs out quickly if there is no progress. It suits me better to look at how people who function normally can function even better.

In the future, I hope to hold a managerial position or even be on the board of a great organisation. That would have to be an organisation of which the core values are aligned with my outlook on life. Only then would I be able to give 100%.

Met mijn collega Susanne Scheibe geef ik het interactieve vak Aging at work and career development.

We discussiëren met studenten over wat werknemers van verschillende leeftijden en gedurende verschillende fasen van hun carrière nodig hebben en hoe organisaties, binnen hun eigen grenzen, hen daarin beter kunnen ondersteunen. Omdat het steeds moeilijker wordt om goed personeel te krijgen en te behouden, is het noodzakelijk voor organisaties om na te denken over bijvoorbeeld talentontwikkeling, flexibel werken en een goede work-life balance. Een organisatiepsycholoog speelt een cruciale rol bij de ontwikkeling en implementatie van dit soort initiatieven. Het vergt veel kennis en creativiteit om de behoeften van de organisatie en haar werknemers samen te brengen.

Ben je geïnteresseerd in het toepassen van kennis uit meerdere domeinen binnen de psychologie, dan zit je goed met de master Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology. Onze kennis is gebaseerd op fundamentele aspecten van onder meer de sociale-, ontwikkelings- en persoonlijkheidspsychologie. Mijn passie is gezondheidspsychologie op het werk: hoe blijven medewerkers en ondernemers gezond gedurende hun dagelijks leven en door hun carrière heen?

De organisatiepsychologie is een relatief breed veld. Ik adviseer studenten dan ook om een open mind te hebben, nieuwsgierig te zijn naar alle vakken en nieuwe perspectieven. Maar ook om hun studie goed te plannen. Weet je al waarin je je wilt specialiseren of heb je nog geen idee? Hoe dan ook: ons masterprogramma bereidt je voor op alle domeinen waardoor je straks in je werkzame leven veel kanten op kunt.

De master Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology was voor mij een logisch vervolg op mijn bachelor Psychologie: ik vind het leuk om met mensen te werken en ik heb gemerkt dat het bedrijfsleven me ook aantrekt. Met deze master kun je bij elk bedrijf aan de slag, van een kleine NGO tot een fancy multinational.

Mijn stage deed ik bij Nouryon, voorheen AkzoNobel, in Amsterdam. Ik mocht daar taken uitvoeren van zowel junior recruiter als HR-officer. Het waren drie hectische maanden waarin ik op een neer reisde van mijn woonplaats Veendam naar Amsterdam. Maar ik ben heel blij dat ik uit mijn comfortzone ben gestapt en voor zo’n interessant bedrijf heb gekozen. Inmiddels ben ik in dienst bij Nouryon waar ik leuke projecten doe. Ik analyseer onder meer onze internationale HR-kantoren met als hoofdvraag: hoe kan het efficiënter?

Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology biedt een mooie balans tussen praktijk en research. Binnen het programma wordt constant de link gelegd met de praktijk, ook bij een theoretisch vak als Personnel Selection. Daarnaast heeft de master een stevige academische inslag, een meerwaarde voor je persoonlijke ontwikkeling en voor je werkgever. Daarmee onderscheid je je op de werkvloer van een HRM-student.

Wat ik jou als potentiële student wil meegeven? Gebruik de planningsbijeenkomst aan het begin van het jaar. Dan krijg je een beeld van wat je wilt doen en wanneer, en wat je nodig hebt. Kies ook een interessante stage, daar heb je echt heel veel aan.

Na mijn master Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology vond ik een baan als People and Culture manager bij Innatera Nanosystems. Een jong, dynamisch bedrijf dat medewerkerswelzijn hoog in het vaandel heeft staan. Ze zochten een HR business partner, een professional die zowel partner kan zijn van het managementteam als van de mensen op de werkvloer. Werkervaring had ik opgedaan tijdens verschillende stages en als vrijwillig coach voor studenten aan de RUG. Met name over dat laatste was mijn werkgever heel enthousiast omdat ik daarmee liet zien dat ik echt om mensen geef.

Ik heb psychologie gestudeerd op Mallorca waar ik vandaan kom en in Zweden met een Erasmusbeurs. Toen ik het vak Arbeidspsychologie volgde, ging er een wereld voor me open. Ik besloot me verder te verdiepen in medewerkerswelzijn en leiderschap en koos voor de master aan de RUG omdat deze goed staat aangeschreven en het programma volledig in het Engels is. De internationale omgeving sprak me ook erg aan.

Tijdens de master doe je praktische vaardigheden op, bijvoorbeeld bij het vak Coaching. Daar heb ik nog steeds veel profijt van. Niet alleen bij het coachen van medewerkers, maar ook bij het opzetten van projecten. Ook leer je hoe je theoretische kennis vertaalt naar vraagstukken die in de praktijk spelen, zoals: hoe vergroot je de creativiteit op de werkvloer, of hoe motiveer je medewerkers? Ik hou de vakliteratuur bij en lees veel over nieuwe onderzoeken. Mijn werkgever biedt mij alle ruimte om mijn kennis in te zetten voor het welzijn van de medewerkers. Dat is wat ik het liefste doe.

Als organizational development partner bij mijn eigen bedrijf Dignify help ik organisaties bij gedragsverandering, zoals het implementeren van zelfsturing bij teams. Ook word ik vaak gebeld als een team voor geen meter loopt, als de dynamiek niet lekker is. Of er nu wordt gepest of dat iemand heel dominant is: de rode draad is een gebrek aan psychologische veiligheid, ofwel het gevoel om jezelf uit te mogen spreken zonder dat je daarvoor afgestraft wordt. Psychologische veiligheid is de basis om met z’n allen te kunnen leren en te ontwikkelen.

Verschillende aspecten van de master Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology komen terug in mijn werk. Als ik een training ga ontwerpen, dan pak ik de verschillende motivatietheorieën er nog regelmatig bij. Aan het praktische vak Coaching heb ik heel veel gehad. Dat geldt ook voor het vak Creativiteit en Innovatie in organisaties waarin je wordt uitgedaagd om na te denken over de vertaalslag van theorie naar praktijk.

Als jij straks je master Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology op zak hebt, dan ben jij binnen organisaties dé expert op het gebied van cultuur en gedragsverandering. Jij kunt gewenste veranderingen omzetten naar concreet gedrag. Je kunt feedback geven, vragen stellen en mensen motiveren. Je herkent teamdynamiek en je ziet wie er formeel en informeel leider is. Bovenal durf jij te benoemen wat je ziet gebeuren, zonder ego, zonder kleur. Dat is volgens mij de kern van ons vak.

During my Bachelor's degree programme in Psychology I realized that I actually didn't want a job as a 'classic' psychologist, for example, in clinical psychology. I wanted to go into business. That's why I chose the Master's degree programme ' Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology' , to learn more about psychology in workplaces. During my Master's I did an internship at the consulting firm Cubiks, where I did research on different generations in the workplace.

After my internship the firm offered me a job as an HR consultant. It's not a very big company, but it has offices in 14 different countries. Firms can, for example, buy our aptitude tests or personality questionnaires, or they can hire us to improve their HR processes.
After I worked at the Dutch office for a while, I actually wanted to travel. I got the opportunity to work for some time at the office in Kuala Lumpur, and I traveled after that. When I came back from my trip, the firm called me to say there was a vacancy at the head office in England. That's where I work and live at the moment. My position is slightly different from the one I first had. It's focused more on marketing and product management: I investigate which new products and services we need to develop and how we can offer those in different countries. I have a lot of contact with the offices in other countries and I travel there regularly. It's a very diverse job and I really enjoy it.

Although my job is not directly related to psychology, my studies are still very useful: not only because I work closely with our research department (which develops all kinds of psychological tests) and the HR consultants / psychologists in other countries, but also because the study taught me a lot about human motivation and behaviour, which is an essential part of marketing!

I can recommend everyone to do an internship during their studies. It's very good for your confidence and you learn what's really going on in the workplace. You gain experience which is very useful when you are going to apply for a real job.

I always said, I'm never going to do a PhD because I already studied long enough. I did two bachelor's programmes, Psychology and Law, and the master's programme 'Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology' . Initially, I wanted to go into business, but during my Master's thesis I found out that I actually really like doing research. So now I'm doing a PhD at the University Medical Center Groningen, which I started almost one year ago.

I study people's motivations to participate voluntarily in large-scale research. As a researcher you always depend on others to participate in your research. It's important to know why people do or do not want to participate in a certain research project, and why they decide to share their personal details. In the end, I have to write an advisory paper for businesses about how they should deal with participants and their recruitment for large-scale researches and projects.

Although my PhD is not really about work psychology, I still use what I learned during my Master's. My research is related to social psychology, and I learned about that during my studies, as well . The skills and research methods I acquired are also still very useful, of course. Only the topic of the studies changed a little.

For my Master's thesis I did an internship at a forensic psychiatric center to study the effectiveness of their policy regarding sick leave. I liked the fact that my thesis was really going to be used for something, and wouldn't end up being read by my supervisor only. In my current research, there is also a combination of theory and practice, which I enjoy. For example, I work together with IBM to answer questions from the field.

I'm very happy I made this choice, I wouldn't want anything else anymore. You get the chance to work on one project for four years, and you won't get that anywhere else. You're completely responsible for the work you do and this means a lot of freedom. I don't just sit in my office all the time, I often have to consult with someone or interview people, and I visit conferences to tell people about my research.

My name is Hannah Cox and I am from the UK. I gained a BSc degree in Psychology in Brighton before coming to Groningen. A friend of mine was studying here, so I had already visited Groningen a number of times before I decided to move here and follow this Master's programme.

During my visits I participated in some of the events organized by University of Groningen students and Faculty. These swayed me to continue my studies in Groningen – I appreciate that there are lots of extracurricular activities and communities outside the University. For example, I’m already involved with the UNICEF student team and the UG Student Culture Centre, Usva.

I’ve never wanted to work as a clinical psychologist, so I looked for a way to put my degree to use in a non-traditional setting. The Work, Organization and Personnel Psychology (WOP) programme seemed like it would enable me to apply my psychological training in a practical way. The programme equips me with the skills I need to work in a business environment while still being involved in helping people.

Before I came here, I wasn’t really familiar with the subject of work, organization and personnel psychology. In my Bachelor’s degree programme, I took general courses in group psychology and organizational psychology, but they were focused on group or crowd behaviour, and not so much on an actual work setting. The WOP programme focuses more on what people want or need to achieve in the workplace. For example, how the work environment can influence productivity and well being, the best ways to stimulate creativity and innovation, or teaching someone to be a good leader or listener.

One of the practical courses offered is the coaching course, which builds on ideas of conversational therapy and offers opportunities to practise these. At the moment, I’m learning coaching techniques and conversational skills, and in the next period I will have the opportunity to coach a student who has recently begun teaching. The aim is to help students feel more comfortable and confident in their new role, and overcome any difficulties they may face. This is very exciting, because it’s the first opportunity I’ve had throughout my studies to practically apply my knowledge outside the research field.

In addition to following the WOP programme, I am taking an elective course unit at the Faculty of Arts that relates to public arts policy and how governments view and maintain cultural institutions. I am considering combining these different fields in the future by applying my skills as a psychologist at a cultural institution. After graduating, I’m first going to apply for graduate schemes at charitable organizations in the UK, in particular charities focused on making science – and studying science – accessible to all people, regardless of their educational background, gender or culture.

The WOP programme helps me to achieve my personal goals by teaching me about how people function in organizations, and the sorts of issues that are present in these contexts. It also provides me with the knowledge to overcome these issues myself in my own career; it is therefore very valuable for both my personal and professional growth.

Hannah Cox - Work, Organization and Personnel Psychology

My name is Marvin Neumann, I am 24 years old and come from Germany. A bundle of things convinced me that starting the Bachelor programme in Psychology and then doing the Master programme in Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology would be the right choice. For example, I liked the availability of a study programme in English, Groningen's reputation as a vibrant student city, and having lots of sports opportunities.

When I just came to Groningen I had no international experience and had to adjust to a new culture, a new way of learning, and a new city. However, I got accustomed to all this quite quickly, as Groningen and the RUG offer multiple opportunities to feel at home. At the start of my Master programme, I was simply very excited, because I wondered whether it would be different from the Bachelor programme. It was nice that the focus was solely on the topic I love, WOP psychology.

I also liked the course structure of the Master a lot. While I did not care too much about the order in which the courses were offered, I enjoyed the variety of courses because I think this completes the skills repertoire of an Organizational psychologist quite neatly. Academically and individually, the achievement I am most proud of so far is the nomination of my Master-thesis for a thesis prize. Thanks to my supervisor, my own motivation, and some very unexpected but interesting scientific results, I was able to write a thesis that was considered for a nomination.

Furthermore, I offered statistical tutoring throughout my studies. It was really rewarding to see students developing their skills further, passing difficult exams, and ultimately gaining expertise, which allows some of them to offer to tutor themselves now.

Contact Marvin Neumann via email (m.neumann.2@student.rug.nl)

Mijn naam is Eric Rietzschel en ik werk als universitair docent in de masteropleiding Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology. Hier geef ik het vak Creativity and Innovation in Organizations bovendien coördineer ik samen met Susanne Scheibe deze mastertrack.

My name is Eric Rietzschel and I am Assistant Professor in the Master's degree programme Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology, where I teach Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. I coordinate this Master's track together with Susanne Scheibe.

The field I work in covers pretty much anything that people think, feel and do, applied to organizations and often in the workplace, but not necessarily so; it can also apply to cooperation within a club or association. Everything that plays a role in psychology — personality, skills and emotions— can be related to this. What I like about my field is that it gives you the space to study everything that you find interesting about people but at the same time provides a clear context to guide you. It goes beyond random thinking about people but instead focuses on people in a specific setting.

Another feature of the programme is diversity, both in terms of subjects and lecturers. Students have the opportunity to ‘direct’ their own Master’s programme by choosing the subjects and lecturers that they find interesting. Students can create their own profile, as it were, whether they are interested in staff selection, innovation, coaching or something else.

I am also very enthusiastic about the combination of theory and practice; this field gives you a clear view of what practice is or can be. This way we can teach students how theory has immediate implications for practice.